Edgar Kaufmann, jr. (1910–1989) was the only child of Edgar and Liliane Kaufmann, owners of Pittsburgh's largest department store. Entrepreneurial retailers, civic and philanthropic leaders, progressive Modern thinkers, and respected patrons of the arts, the family moved into creative and intellectual circles that nourished an open-minded approach to art and design.

This exposure led the young Edgar Kaufmann, jr. (the lowercase “jr.” was his preferred abbreviation) to attend the School of Applied Arts in Vienna, apprentice as a painter in the artist workshop of Victor Hammer, and study architecture under Frank Lloyd Wright as part of the Taliesin Fellowship. His time at Taliesin established an enduring connection between the family and Wright, one that resulted in the creation of Fallingwater, the family's world-famous vacation house.

Edgar Kaufmann, jr. eventually donated Fallingwater to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963, allowing the house and land to be shared as a public museum. Outside of this contribution, which is regarded as one of the greatest acts of architectural philanthropy, Edgar Kaufmann, jr. became a leading scholar of architecture and design and for many years was an adjunct professor at Columbia University. Earlier in his professional career, he served as the Museum of Modern Art's director of industrial design and later headed up the museum's Good Design program.

As an influential curator, collector, scholar, and philanthropist, Edgar Kaufmann, jr. played a significant role throughout his life in popularizing artists and designers, helping establish careers that made many of them household names.

Join Fallingwater's Director Justin Gunther as he gives us an intimate view into the life and legacy of one of Modernism's most influential tastemakers.

https://fallingwater.org